Developers lay out their vision and a new timeline for old hospital lands

A group of non-profit developers looking to transform London's Old Victoria Hospital campus into a community made up of hundreds of affordable housing units revealed their project world be finished a year later than expected, Monday.

An announcement made at the project site in the heart of London's SoHo neighbourhood also included an unveiling of the project's vision.

The Vision SoHo Alliance, which is comprised of Chelsea Green Home Society, Homes Unlimited London, Indwell, London Affordable Housing Foundation, Residenza Affordable Housing, and Zerin Development Corporation, originally promised the redevelopment would be complete by 2025 at a groundbreaking ceremony last summer. 

Indwell ran into money troubles in Aug after its application for a one-time $13.5 million grant was rejected by the Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation, forcing the developer to scramble to find other sources of cash. 

On Monday, Greg Playford, a committee member with the London Community Foundation, the charity spearheading the project, said Vision SoHo is still waiting on provincial and federal money to be released, but they anticipate the development to be finished by early 2026.

It means the entire project, dubbed by the alliance, "the single largest affordable housing development in London's history," will be delayed by another year as the city grapples with unprecedented levels of poverty and homelessness in the wake of the COVID-19. 

"It will be about 650 units and 400 of them will be affordable," Playford said. "It's been almost been almost three years of planning and the result is it's going to be kind of a campus type feel and the units will all be built over a common parking garage."

The alliance is undertaking the War Memorial Children's Hospital and the London Health Services Building, which were both built in the early twentieth century. They've submitted a building plan and heritage alteration permit to the city of London, said Julie Ryan, community engagement coordinator at Indwell.

"We've raised $3 million from the community, and the city has put in an additional $2 million toward this building, so we're construction ready and excited to get going," she said.

Indwell will be providing 42 of the units, which will include interdisciplinary supports such as nursing supports, addiction supports, housing and food security, among several others, said regional manager Natasha Thuemler.

"My hope is that individuals will really feel a sense of belonging and being part of a larger community with the other units that will be developed at this location," she said. "I think there's opportunity to be part of a neighbourhood, feel welcomed."